"I am grieving at the loss of the business, the dream that I have worked tirelessly at creating for the better part of 10 years," he wrote.

LaFollette pointed out that Blank Slate always operated on a tight budget. An expansion that started in 2015 and continued into 2016 was aimed at making the brewery profitable. But by then, Cincinnati's brewing industry was booming.

"A dozen more breweries had opened, all better funded than us with nicer taprooms and slicker marketing," LaFollette wrote. "Instead of our volume growing as expected it stagnated and in some areas actually decreased. We simply did not have the means to keep up with the ever increasing costs of trying to stand out in a crowd when compared to the next shiny new thing coming down the pike."

LaFollette wrote that he isn't sure if Blank Slate will ever be back, and he indicated that he's still thinking about what his next move will be.

But for now, there is still Blank Slate beer in distribution, he wrote.

That means local craft beer fans can raise a glass of Fork in The Road or Movin' On – names that now no doubt carry a certain poignancy for many – in honor of the brewery.